Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal - The Strongest Number
by TheOtherWhiteNerd
Summary: The Strongest Number and the chosen warrior of ZeXal... When their paths meet, what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

A Rival Appears!

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal. All rights go to 4kids Entertainment and all other respective owners. I am making nothing off of this. Thank You.

* * *

"Where am I"? A boy said as he awoke from unconsciousness. This boy was of average height for a sixteen year old standing at about five feet and nine inches. He wore a black jacket with a white T-shirt underneath, black pants with black sneakers and a pair of white socks. His hair was jet black with white highlights and white tips that descended down his back until it reached his waist. Around his wrist he wore a silver duel disk with black highlights and he wore a matching D-gazer around his eye. His eyes were cobalt blue in color.

"Stand up, chosen warrior…" The boy leaped up, now fully awake. He looked around for the source of the sound and took in his surroundings. He was inside some kind of realm that consisted of a very visible blue energy and seemingly had no end or ground. Next to him stood some kind of Alien that seemed to be made of the same kind of energy as the world he was trapped in. The Alien's body was a clear blue with green markings and many different gems all over his body. His blue hair curled and he had slightly pointed ears, which were pierced with dangling earrings. Aside from his body being translucent, the Alien's most striking feature was his eyes. They were heterochromic with one iris being gold and the other being an ever so slightly duller shade of white than his scleras. The alien also looked as though he had just come to from some kind of sleep or general unconsciousness.

The next thing that the boy noticed was a door. This Door emitted energy from its base that was more physical and solid than the rest of the world. This door also seemed to emit a darkness that was more mysterious than evil. "Come," the Door simply said. The Alien and Yuusuke looked at each other and slowly floated towards the Door. When the duo reached the Door, it began to speak. "Whoever opens this door will receive a great power, but know that with such power comes great risk…"

The Alien looked at Yuusuke who stared at the Door. Yuusuke began to speak. "What power and what risk?"

The Door ignored the question and merely began to speak again. "Astral, you have a mission."

At this, the Alien, Astral, was stunned. "How do you know who I am? Do you know anything more about me?"

The Door did not reply and Yuusuke realized that Astral had Amnesia. "How unfortunate for him…" He began to think of the life he had and how he would get back to his life, but no solution presented itself.

Astral was annoyed. "Just what is my mission?!" he shouted, but to not avail. The Door would not answer. Instead, the lock on it's chains glowed which in turn caused the necklace Yuusuke wore to glow.

Yuusuke picked the necklace up and examined it. He didn't own a necklace, yet here was one around his neck. The glow ebbed soon, and when it did, the door began to speak again. "Unbind me... I will open for he who unbinds me..."

Yuusuke looked at Astral asking him what to do. Astral held out his hand and asked for the key Yuusuke wore. "I'll open the door," he said. After a moments hesitation, Yuusuke did as he was asked. Astral turned around before sliding the key into the lock and turned it.

Suddenly, he and Astral were both effectively thrown out into this new realm where this new power awaited them. Yuusuke realized that he and Astral were being separated. While Astral was headed towards a realm of light, Yuusuke's destination appeared to be anything but.

Then, it all stopped. Everything was black, dark enough so that all he could see were the outlines. Honestly, there was little to see. The only thing he could see was what looked like Astral... but Astral shone like a light. Whoever this was did not.

Yuusuke was confused. Just what was going on? Unfortunately, he never got the chance to ask. This person's body morphed as a tentacle suddenly shot out if his arm.

* * *

An intense duel was going on in Heartland Park. On one side was Shark, a very talented boy with Pro-level dueling skills. He controlled an Xyz Monster card identified as "Number 17: Leviathan Dragon", (WATER/Rank 3/Dragon/Xyz/4000 ATK) [0 Xyz Materials] and a face-up Booming Urchin. Leviathan Dragon was a blue dragon with multiple horns and three pairs of wings that adorned his back. Shark held a victorious smile on his face, almost like he knew no matter what was thrown his way, he would win.

On the other side of the field was a boy very well known for being a terrible duelist, Yuma Tsukumo. He was the laughing stock of his entire school, and failed at almost everything he attempted to accomplish. Oddly enough though, nothing could make him doubt his skills… Or lack thereof. He was always confident in everything he did, even though he hardly ever accomplished whatever it was that he set out to do. Dueling was no exception.

On his side of the field, Yuma controlled an Xyz Monster card identified as "Comics Hero King Arthur". (EARTH/Rank 4/Warrior/Xyz/3400 ATK) [0 Xyz Materials] Arthur, or 'Arty' as Yuma called his ace Monster, was a giant of a man, dressed in gold plated armor. From underneath his helmet, his long, dirty blonde mane flowed freely. His weapon of choice was a gargantuan sword that was almost as long as Arthur was tall.

Yuma was nervous. He entered this duel to retrieve the decks of his friend, Bronk, and the decks of all the other duelists Shark had beaten in battle. However, he was losing and with his hand and field, he had no hope of winning. Turning his head, he saw the strange alien that appeared out of nowhere on the ground, slowly fading away. He hung his head in shame and ended his turn as Shark began to chuckle. 'I've let everyone down,' Yuma thought. 'My friends, the others who lost to shock... even this 'Astral'... I really am a failure... I'm sorry, Dad.'

Shark smiled, victorious. "During the Standby Phase, the effect of 'Booming Urchin' activates dealing 1000 points of damage to you," he simply said. The holographic urchin exploded, knocking Yuma off of his feet as he screamed in shock. (Yuma LP: 500-0) (Shark: WIN!) Yuma had lost again.

Astral watched as the blast raced towards him. He was far too weak to be able to avoid it, but he still had one thing left to try. He sensed it, a second Number. It was nearby. Turning his head to look, he saw Yuusuke standing in this impossible darkness. 'Yuusuke... I leave my power to you...' he silently thought as the blast overwhelmed him.

Yuma's friends ran to him and asked him how he was feeling. Before Yuma could answer though, he and his friends heard Shark chuckling while Shark slowly and casually approached. He broke through the small crowd and because his Number had rendered Yuma temporarily incapacitated, forcefully took Yuma's deck.

"Pathetic cards," Shark chuckled. He took the deck and carelessly dumped the contents into his backpack. When he turned around, he met the stunned faces of the crowd. Shark just returned their looks of fear with a look of his own that spoke of superiority and a hunger for power that had yet to be filled. Then he began to walk away and gaze upon his glorious Number.

However, Leviathan Dragon sensed the presence of another Number nearby. It communicated this to Shark and asked him to turn around and look for the source of the power. "The power comes from a nearby alleyway, Shark." Shark turned to the only nearby alleyway that he knew of, but did not see anything. Just as he turned around to look elsewhere for the source of the power, a slow clap sounded, carrying all the way across the silent battlefield.

All eyes turned to the source of the sound, Shark being the most intrigued of all. They all watched as Yuusuke slowly emerged, a strange smile on his face. Now standing fully in the light, he opened his eyes and stared directly at Shark.

The silence stretched on until it became uncomfortable. Shark frowned. "Who might you be?"

Yuusuke didn't respond at first, being perfectly content to annoy Shark even more. He succeeded in his task, as Shark asked in a more frustrated tone, "Well?"

Ignoring Shark's question, Yuusuke replied, "Congratulations."

"That's not what I asked."

"I know." Yuusuke was chuckling now. It was so easy to mess with people.

Shark stared at Yuusuke, irritated. Of course he knew what this boy was up to, he was making it so obvious. However, that did not mean he was not succeeding. "So then what do you want with me?"

Yuusuke tilted his head and stared at Shark for a moment longer. "I saw your duel and I have one question for you... Shark, are you strong?"

"Strong? You just saw me completely dominate Yuma!"

Yuusuke chuckled. "Am I supposed to be impressed by you taking down the most pathetic duelist in the world?"

From the crowd, Tori piped up. "Hey! Yuma is not pathetic!"

Yuusuke turned to look at the young girl that dared to talk back to him. "Oh, shut up, you dumb hag!"

Tori's mouth fell open in surprise as did the mouths of many others in the crowd. 'How could one person be so rude', many of them wondered.

Another of Yuma's friends, Bronk, broke the silence. He was, fairly understandably, outraged. "How dare you! You have no right to talk to her that way! Who do you think you are?"

"Who am I?" Yuusuke sneered. "Why, it's quite simple really. I am the strongest there ever was, and the strongest there ever will be! So let me make this clear... All of you should learn how to talk to your superiors before addressing me again!"

The jaws of all the watcher's in the crowd fell again. This boy was terrible! He was vain, conceited, and many considered him to also be highly delusional. Some were shocked, some were angry, and some were scared. Yuusuke loved to see those that were scared of him, it gave him a certain thrill.

Bronk, however, was not scared. He was furious. How dare someone talk to anyone that way, much less one of his friends! He was determined to teach this boy a lesson. In a fit of anger, he charged straight at Yuusuke, fully expecting to knock his lights out.

Yuusuke however, saw the attack coming from a mile away. Yuusuke dodged, the punch passing harmlessly next to his head. Yuusuke countered, planting one leg behind Bronk and pushing against him, tripping him down. Bronk fell, hitting the ground hard and not immediately getting up. Yuusuke knelt down, getting right in his face. "See? You're beneath me," he said, lightly slapping Bronk face.

]

"Hey. Remember me? You wanted a duel, right?"

Yuusuke chuckled as he turned to look at Shark. "Yes, a duel. I take it you accept?" Shark didn't respond but simply took out his duel disk activating it. Yuusuke mirrored the action.

Together, they both yelled "Let's duel!"

Turn 1: Shark

Shark: 4000 LP; Hand - 5

Yuusuke: 4000 LP; Hand - 5

* * *

Hello, everybody! Thank you for taking the time to read the first chapter to my story, 'ZeXal - The Strongest Number'. It's no secret that ZeXal is viewed as the worst entry in the franchise, but do not fear! For I have seen Arc-V and the first episode shows much greater potential! This story is what would have happened if Dark Mist had been a main character instead of an occasional road block to our "hero" and his friends.

Aside from that little tidbit of information, I do not wish to divulge anymore of the story, so I thank you once again! If you enjoyed, check out my other works, and favorite, follow, and review! If you did not like it, please feel free to leave a comment telling me why. However, no flames!

This is TOWN signing off. Sayanora!

* * *

Featured Card

Number 17: Leviathan Dragon

Attribute: WATER

Rank: 3

Type: Dragon/Xyz/Effect

ATK/DEF: 2000/0

Card Lore

2 Level 3 Monsters

This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except with "Number" Monsters.

Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; this card gains 500 ATK.

This card cannot attack directly while it has no Xyz Materials.


	2. Chapter 2

ZeXal - The Strongest No. 2

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal. All rights go to 4kids Entertainment and all other respective owners. I am making nothing off of this. Thank You.

Turn 1: Shark

Shark: 4000 LP; Hand - 5  
Yuusuke: 4000 LP; Hand - 5

"I hope you don't mind if I go first," Shark began. He looked at his hand contemplating what would be his best course of action. 'Of course I'll need a strong opening... But should I summon 17?'

"Go ahead and take the first move, Shark. Just remember that he who goes first gets no Draw or Battle Phase." Yuusuke chuckled. His hand was perfect. He would soon call forth his Number and as soon as he did, it would all be over. 'Hehe... Shark won't know what hit him.'

Shark, deciding against Summoning his Number, began his turn. "I Normal Summon 'Friller Rabca'! (WATER/Level 3/Fish/700 ATK) Since I just Normal Summoned a Fish-type Monster, I can Special Summon 'Shark Stickers' from my hand! (WATER/Level 3/Fish/200 ATK) Then, with these two Level 3 Monsters, I create the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! 'Black Ray Lancer'! (DARK/Rank 3/Beast-Warrior/Xyz/2100 ATK)

"Then, I set one card and end my turn. Your up, Yuusuke! Let's see what you've got!"

Turn 2: Yuusuke

Shark: 4000 LP; Hand - 2  
Yuusuke: 4000 LP; Hand - 5

"I draw." Yuusuke calmly looked over his hand and grinned. "Let me ask you something, Shark. Why didn't you summon your Number? You had all the materials..."

Shark's scowl deepened. "I didn't think I'd need to summon it yet." He grinned. "Imagine your shame if I defeat you without ever revealing my true strength."

Yuusuke chuckled. "That was a mistake. 'Numbers' are more than just regular Xyz Monsters, Shark. You'll have to do better than that to defeat me!

"Allow me to show my might! I begin this turn by activating 'Onomatopaira'. By discarding one card, I can add 'Dododo Warrior' and 'Gagaga Sister' to my hand, the latter of which I'll Normal Summon! (DARK/Level 2/Spellcaster/200 ATK) Using her effect, I add 'Gagagabolt' to my hand, which I then activate to destroy your face-down!" The little sister charged lightning in her hand before raising her hands to the sky, causing a lightning bolt to vaporize Shark's face-down.

"Through his own effect, I Special Summon 'Gagaga Child'! (DARK/Level 2/Spellcaster/800 ATK) Next, I'll activate 'Gagagarevenge', reviving the 'Gagaga Magician' I discarded for 'Onomatopaira'." (DARK/Level 4/Spellcaster/1500 ATK) The two young magicians raised their hands, opening a portal to a dark realm. From the portal rose their master, charging a magical energy in his staff.

"Gagaga Magician! Change your level to 2! (Level 4 - 2) And now... With these three Level 2 Monsters I create the Overlay Network! Darkness Incarnate, become the fog that suffocates my enemies! Xyz Summon! The strongest Number! 'Number 96: Dark Mist'!" The portal below the master magician transformed to resemble a galaxy. All three of the Gagaga magic users transformed into purple energy, which was sucked into the portal. The black hole in the center became a white hole, releasing all the energy it had consumed in a single galactic explosion. After the light faded, what appeared to be a drop of oil hovered in midair, a flame seemingly caught in its center. The oil began to spread, forming limbs and a tail. At its head, the oil became a finned crest, the number 96 glowing brightly. On its torso, the flames became two "eyes", a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth emerging from the body just below the pair of eyes. (DARK/Rank 2/Fiend/Xyz/100 ATK) "Then, due to the effect of 'Gagagarevenge', Dark Mist will gain 300 ATK." (100 - 400 ATK)

Shark was puzzled. He claimed this card was the "strongest Number", and while it looked menacing, its stats were pretty unremarkable. What made it so strong?

"Now, Dark Mist attacks!" The black fiend charged forward, its arm stretching to impossible lengths before ensnaring the lancer in its oily grasp. At first, the lancer was not destroyed, but then tendrils with needle-like points shot out from the limb, piercing the beast warrior in the small places that were left unprotected by its armor. Shark's Monster howled in pain as Yuusuke chuckled. "You see, Shark... I can detach one Xyz Material to steal half of your monster's strength for my own!" (2100-1050 ATK; 400-1450 ATK)

"What?!" Shark watched in horror and disgust as the creature beneath the armor began to be sucked away. It quickly stopped struggling, becoming too weak to, and too small for his armor. The black chest-plate fell to the ground with a loud 'CLANK', the other pieces of armor and its lance doing the same before they all exploded into the particle effect that Duel Monsters was known for. (Shark: 4000 - 3600 LP)

Yuusuke chuckled. "I set two cards and end my turn."

Turn 3: Shark

Shark: 3600 LP; Hand - 2  
Yuusuke: 4000 LP; Hand - 1

"I draw!" Shark knew there was only one option. If he summoned his Number, then he would be able to blow past Yuusuke's Number. Yes, the card was interesting, but ultimately Shark was stronger.

... Or so he thought.

"I begin my turn by activating 'Salvage'. With this card, I can add one WATER Monster from my Graveyard to my hand! I add 'Shark Stickers'!

"Now I Normal Summon 'Needle Sunfish'! (WATER/Level 3/Fish/1500 ATK) Once again, I Special Summon 'Shark Stickers'! (WATER/Level 3/Fish/200 ATK) Now with these two Level 3 Monsters, I once again create the Overlay Network! Watch as all the power in the Seven Seas converges here and now to create the most powerful being in the ocean! Xyz Summon! 'Number 17: Leviathan Dragon'!" The two fish transformed into two orbs of glowing blue energy, one darker than the other, and entered a portal much like the one that Dark Mist was summoned from. The galaxy exploded, much like the previous portal, releasing the dragon in its sealed form. The sealed form slowly began to unfurl, spikes becoming six sets of wings, the body stretching out to its fullest length. On one of the dragon's horns was imprinted the shining number '17'. After the summon was complete, it left off a fierce howl, its glowing, red eyes settling on Dark Mist. From the portal emerged two orbs of water that soon began to circle the dragon. (WATER/Rank 3/Dragon/Xyz/2000 ATK)

"Now I detach one Xyz Material from my Dragon, I increase its ATK by 500! And since the card I detached was 'Needle Sunfish', its effect activates, reducing your Monsters ATK by 500 as well!" The dragon slurped up one of the two orbs, streams of water dribbling down from between its fangs. At the same time, needles shot out from a portal next to the dragon piercing Dark Mist and opening holes in its oily body. Even though these holes were quickly patched, the damage was done. (2000-2500 ATK; 1450-950 ATK) "Now, my dragon! Unleash your rage! Attack with Shock Stream!" he shouted with a grin on his face.

Yuusuke however, looked hardly scared or nervous. "Oh, Shark... did I forget to tell you that I could activate my effect during ANY battle?!"

"What?!" Shark watched in horror as the other arm of the fiend shot out and ensnared his Number. Tendrils pierced the dragon's flesh, sucking power from the beast. When its appetite was sated, the fiend hurled the dragon down towards the ground. The dragon let out a pained howl before exploding, much like Shark's previous Monster. (2500-1250 ATK; 950-2200 ATK; 3600-2350 LP)

Shark was scared now. He had one face-down, and nothing in hand. Yuusuke had been in complete control through-out this entire duel! He cursed himself as he realized that the only Monster that could have saved him was the one he first let die. What could he do now? "I end my turn."

Turn 4: Yuusuke

Shark: 2350 LP; Hand - 0  
Yuusuke: 4000 LP; Hand - 1

"I draw. Now do you see Shark? You could never hope to defeat me!" Yuusuke turned his head towards his monster, gazing upon its strength. "Your destruction is nigh! Dark Mist attacks!" The fiend released black flames from its chest's "mouth", scorching Shark. Shark screeched in pain, before falling to his knees, his clothes singed. (2350-150 LP)

'No way!' he thought, panicked, as he gasped for air. 'These... these Monsters aren't real... they're just holograms! So why... Why am I really burnt?!' He no longer had a desire to duel. He no longer wanted Yuusuke's Number, he wanted none at all. It was finally dawning on him the hurt had caused to others, and he began to hate himself for it.

Yuusuke chuckled as he silently ended his turn.

Turn 5: Shark

Shark: 150 LP; Hand - 0  
Yuusuke: 4000 LP; Hand - 1

Shark took a shaky breath as he struggled to stand. "I... I draw..." His mind was still racing, but he would not give up! Shark knew there had to be some way out of this, and the card he drew had to be perfect. Looking at the card, he thought about his situation. 'This is it... My last stand...'

"I Normal Summon 'Big Jaws' (WATER/Level 3/Fish/1800 ATK) and end my turn. Your move."

Turn 6: Yuusuke

Shark: 150 LP; Hand - 0  
Yuusuke: 4000 LP; Hand - 2

"Hmm... I must say, I'm impressed that you've managed to hold on for so long... However, the end is now! This is it, Shark! Final Turn!" Yuusuke drew his card. "I Normal Summon 'Dododo Warrior'! (EARTH/Level 6/Warrior/2300 ATK) You see, I can Normal Summon him without tribute, but his original ATK becomes 1800. (2300-1800 ATK) However, that's still enough! He'll now attack your freak-of-nature!"

Shark's eyes had settled into a steely gaze as he mustered up his last remaining strength. 'This has to work!' "I activate Friller Rabca's effect!" He pulled the card out of the Graveyard, readying it to defend... but nothing happened. The warrior still rushed forward.

Yuusuke chuckled. "When Dododo Warrior attacks, you're unable to activate card effects that activate in the Graveyard!"

Shark's frown deepened. He was hoping to save his face-down for Yuusuke's Number. 'No choice!' "Well then, I activate 'Poseidon's Wave'! When you attack a WATER Monster I control, these waves will swallow your monster, and the current will rush towards you, slamming into you with the force of 800 damage behind it!" The trap card flipped up, but none of what Shark said happened.

"Good try, but like I said... this is the final turn! I chain 'Wiretap'! This trap negates yours and shuffles it back into your deck!" Yuusuke's last face-down flipped up, glowing a light purple. The purple glow shot out and almost gently set the holographic card, before causing both cards to disappear. The warrior slashed through the cyborg shark, but the shark bit the warrior in two.

Shark was stunned. 'This is it... I've lost...' He thought for sure he'd be able to buy himself one last turn, but Yuusuke had him at every corner! Every move he made, Yuusuke would counter... 'If only I hadn't so blindly believed in that Number's strength!'

Yuusuke grinned maliciously. Without a WATER Monster on the field, Shark was out of options, and he knew it. 'Well, it's time to put Shark out of his misery...' He silently motioned for his Monster to attack. The dark demon of a monster closed its mouth, before unleashing a devastating purple flame, scorching Shark. (150-0 LP; Yuusuke: WIN!)

Shark howled in pain as the flames licked around him. Holes had burned through his clothes and smoke wafted in the breeze. Shark was once more on his knees, fighting a losing battle to even stay conscious. The last thing he saw through the haze was the shape of Yuusuke, triumphantly approaching to claim his prize.

Yuusuke reached inside the now unconscious Shark's Graveyard, taking the Number out and adding it to his deck. Turning around, he looked at the crowd. All in it were stunned silent.

However, there was one boy who recovered over his initial shock sooner than the others. Yuma Tsukumo charged straight at Yuusuke, flailing his limbs like a madman. "You killed Shark," he screamed. "You monster! I'll kill you!"

Yuma's friends, in an attempt to save him, rushed forwards and grabbed him before a blow could be landed. It took all of their might to hold Yuma back, but they did.

Standing not five feet away from them, Yuusuke stood grinning like a cheshire cat. After Yuma had (mostly) calmed down, he simply asked, "Finished?"

"Why?" Yuma responded.

"Why what?"

"Why'd you kill Shark?!" Yuma screamed in annoyance and anger. It took a lot to get him riled up, but Yuusuke made it look easy! He was so nonchalant, so arrogant!

"He's not dead. He's only unconscious. I highly recommend that someone call HEN (Heartland Emergency Network), otherwise he will die." The mouths of everyone in the crowd fell open. How could someone talk about death as though it was so trivial?

Yuusuke turned to walk away. He got what he needed, and the peanut gallery here was just wasting his time. There were other Numbers, and he could not wait to add their power to his collection. 'This will be far too easy.'

Yuma shouted back, telling Yuusuke not to walk away, but Yuusuke responded with a mock wave as he continued to waltz away. What he had not expected was that one of the girls from the crowd would follow him. This girl was shorter than Yuusuke by about a head. Her skin was sienna in color and nearly flawless. She wore two chocolate colored doe eyes, and her hair was chestnut. She apparently had a thing for jewelry, specifically pearls, evidenced by the fact that she wore a necklace, a bracelet, and a matching pair of earrings, all made from pearls. She wore a simple white tee, and jeans, but also sported designer heels. She made semi-casual look good.

Her name was Tresha. She knew of Yuusuke and had been harboring feelings for him for some time, although she never could work up the nerve to actually talk to him. That morning, she had finally made up her mind to talk to Yuusuke, but she had not expected this. No one had.

'This person is not Yuusuke. The Yuusuke I know would never do this!' She wondered what was wrong as she carefully and as stealthily as she could, followed Yuusuke around Heartland.

Ten minutes had gone by when Yuusuke suddenly gripped his head and screamed as he, much like Shark had, fell to his knees. Alarmed, Tresha ran up to him and tried to ask him what was wrong. However, Yuusuke simply howled, unable to say anything. As Tresha dialed the number for HEN, Yuusuke passed out. It was all Tresha could do to keep from hysterics. She just managed to coherently mumble out the address they were at when she noticed that they had drawn a crowd. Everyone was wondering how they could help the fifteen year old girl care for the sixteen year old she was cradling in her arms.

"Don't worry, Yuusuke. You'll be okay."

Yuusuke groggily opened his eyes. 'Where am I?' he wondered. It appeared that he was underneath the blue sky of Earth. 'No not of Earth... Astral's world?' As he sat up, he took a look around him. The sky was the same blue of Astral world, but this world had a ground. Not just a ground, but a ground of dust.

'Astral's world had no ground. This is dust... and it's completely bone dry. Just where am I?'

He looked around and saw nothing at first. Then, off in the distance, he saw a structure. It was too far away to make any detail, but it was dark. 'Well, no place else to go.'

It took Yuusuke about two hours to get there. As he approached, he saw that this building  
looked like it was made entirely out of gears. Another thing he noticed was that in this realm he did not grow tired or hungry.

Eventually, he reached the building and found a door. Inside this door was a long hall that had slabs of crystal, each engraved with a stylized number, the numbers ranging from 01 to 99.

Yuusuke was confused. Just what were these, and why were they there? Where did these come from. As he stared down the hall, he saw that two of these slabs were lit, bearing the numbers 17and 96 respectively. Yuusuke found himself compelled to approach these bizarre crystal monuments, and approach them he did.

Standing in front of the one that was nearest to him, the number 17, he gazed into the crystal. Instead of seeing the different colors refracted by the prism as would be expected, Yuusuke saw a scene play out before him.

It was brief, but it was vivid. There was Astral. He was standing in front of a council of sone sort. They were telling him something, and although Yuusuke somehow knew it was important, he could not figure out what they were saying.

Then, the scene ended. Yuusuke found himself staring at the crystal slab again, but this time, it did not change. 'What was that?' Yuusuke wondered. 'A memory? Some kind of alien video?'

Staring down the hallway, Yuusuke looked at the other glowing slab. 'I wonder if that will do the same?' he thought to himself as he began to walk towards it. Once he stepped in front of it, he read the number 96, before it too played another scene. This scene showed the world as one would see it from space. It looked so beautiful, so peaceful. However, suddenly there arose large canyons that sprouted from the surface as though someone was tearing the Earth like paper. The oceans dried up and the greenery died in seconds before suddenly the Earth exploded. Then, the vision ended.

Yuusuke was baffled, and, needless to say, somewhat worried. 'What kind of a memory was that?! Was that... Earth?'

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the far wall moving. Rather, the far well actually concealed a door that was now opening. Seeing no where else to go, Yuusuke continued through the doorway and up the staircase it had hidden.

The whole place interested Yuusuke greatly. It was made up entirely of gears it seemed at first, but it bore ancient brick walls. They had hallways decorated with crystal, and machinery so advanced, it was like magic. 'Just what is this place?'

Eventually, Yuusuke found a fork in the stairway. One path led further into the machine, and the other led back outside. As he was contemplating going further in and exploring more of the machine, he heard a howl that sounded like that of a dragon's cry. Changing his plans, he sprinted up the stairway and practically leapt outside.

Yuusuke could see over the side of the machine to the ground and saw that he was standing underneath large gear frames. Looking outside, he could not find the dragon anywhere. 'I know I heard the dragon... but where is it?' He looked around for ten minutes, but never found it. Whatever dragon had howled before was long gone now.

Sitting down, Yuusuke started thinking. How was he to get out? He was stuck in a world he knew nothing about, and had no idea how he got in here. The hallway had crystal slabs, but he did not see any other doors around, aside from the one he entered through.

That's when the thought struck him. 'I was so worried about finding that dragon that I forgot to check the other side. I'm sure there has to be a clue or two there!'

Yuusuke turned around to head back, but as he stared at the doorway, something felt off. 'It feels... darker than before.' Shrugging it off and chalking it up to his imagination, he pushed forward and walked towards the hallway, but was pushed back by some kind of thick, black sludge The sludge fell off and retreated into the darkness of the hallway. Yuusuke tried to see what was in there, but it was just too dark. Then, he heard chuckling.

Emerging from the darkness of the hallway was a figure. It floated out from the darkness with a smile on its face. As this person came into the light, Yuusuke thought it was Astral, but the more it showed itself, the more sure he became that this person was anyone but.

This figure looked exactly like Astral, but was black instead of [white]. The green gems in Astral's body were mirrored as red in this person's. Finally, the small marks that Astral had on his face were "replaced" by long red scars on this person's. "Hello again, Yuusuke." This person spoke in such familiar, such friendly tones, but deep down Yuusuke detected malice and evil.

"Who... are you?"

Opening its eyes, the creature addressed Yuusuke once again. It's single golden iris and completely black other eye bored into Yuusuke's soul. "You've already forgotten?" he inquired again in that jovial, friendly tone. Extending his hand out towards Yuusuke, he continued. "It's me... Astral."

Hey guys, I wanted to quickly apologize about the delay in posting this chapter. You see, I wanted to post this chapter weeks ago, but family issues got in the way. These issues at first stripped me of my time for writing and then my desire to write.

Also, there were some people who left reviews complaining about the fact that Yuma had an Xyz Monster. I am not claiming this is going to be the same as the canon anime/manga. I will take writer's liberty, and change some things. Some changes will be very minor, others will be major, and still others will be somewhere in between.

One of the main things I've changed are the decks of certain characters. The reason that Yuma has an Xyz Monster is because his deck is different than his anime/manga counterpart's. You see, in real life, I play Gagagas and many of its variants. I wanted to give Yuusuke a deck that I knew how to play and a deck that would allow him to play just about any "Number" and/or Xyz Monster that he cones across. Gagagas are one of the few decks that can do this. Because of this, I had to change Yuma's deck for two reasons; it would be to similar to Yuusuke's deck, and I have plans for Yuma that the new deck will better represent.

Another reason for the deck changes I am making is because I like all the cards my characters use to be real life cards. No one in my story uses Anime or Manga exclusive cards, and all cards follow their real life effects and wording. The only exceptions are cards I make specifically for this story (which won't be too often), and "Numbers" having their unique battle destruction effect: "This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except with 'Number' Monsters." Due to this fact, a few different characters have no decks at all, and some other characters have decks that are slightly different, and yet others have decks that are fairly drastically different. Any new deck a character has will be a deck that I feel can properly represent them. So do not fear! Shark will not suddenly become a Pyro Burn duelist.

As for this chapter, it appears that all is not well. Some people are suspicious as to why Yuusuke would do such terrible things to Shark while others are vengeful for the things he has done. It seems that Yuusuke is in a strange, new world with an Astral imposter. Just who could it be?

Seriously though, you guys should know that the black Astral is indeed Dark Mist and he is the blackness that swallowed Yuusuke in the previous chapter.

Anyways, onto the reviews!

Wilhelm Wigworthy wrote:

Well done. So good, I had to read it twice, haha! Here's hoping for more!

My response:

Thanks! And yeah, there will be more where this came from! In the meantime, check out my other fanfictions, if you so desire.

zerophoenix1 wrote:

Nice to see your story back. It reminds me of how it was originally. Can't wait to see what you have in mind for later.

My response:

Yeah, for those of you who have been faithfully following me, you'll know this is like the fourth time I'm posting this story :P Every time I posted it, I'd get two or three chapters in and want to change sone major things for one reason or the other. This time around, I decided to write the "incarnation" I enjoyed most, which is far closer to the original, but also has a few ideas I took from other incarnations.

A guest wrote:

It's interesting to see someone as arrogant as Dark Mist become a main character but will he be an anti-hero or a villain? About what you said in your notes, I honestly think that ZeXal is not the worst Yu-Gi-Oh series and it could be childish at some times but during the second season it started to become darker with some characters dying for good such as Mr. Heartland. I'm not sure how I feel about ARC-V with the main character being more childish than Yuma but I'll try and give it a chance.

My response:

You'll have to continue to tune in to see what becomes of Dark Mist :P My review of ZeXal is for the English Dub which is just awful. I've yet to find somewhere that I can watch the Japanese Dub/English Sub, but I've heard it's a LOT better. To me, Yuya already seems more interesting than Yuma. He's a clown because of his father's motto: "Whenever you want to cry, laugh. Let out the biggest laugh you can!" It might be that I'm the same way irl, so I connect with Yuya a lot more than I did Yuma.

Also, if I don't respond to your review, it's not because I don't care :P However, there are reviews that I won't respond to. Flames and Trolls are two things I will not feed. I also won't respond if the review is asking a question I've already answered, unless they also ask other things that I have not answered.

Anyways, that's really all I have to say. This is TOWN signing off. Sayanora!

Featured Card

Number 96: Dark Mist

Attribute: DARK  
Rank: 2  
Type: Fiend/Xyz/Effect  
ATK/DEF: 100/1000

Card Lore  
3 Level 2 Monsters

This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by battle with "Number" Monsters.  
Once per battle, during either player's turn, when an attack is declared involving this card and an opponent's monster: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; halve the ATK of the opponent's monster, and if you do, this card gains that same amount of ATK.


End file.
